My brave son just came out.

You're obviously a fantastic, supportive family. One thing that makes this country so great. However, I'd leave it up to him who he comes out to, you've done your part, just continue being supportive.

 

I can't speak on behalf of your son, but odds are he was still coming to terms with it himself. At some point he will probably open up about it. My mom and I had a discussion just recently that answered all of her questions, I came out at 20 and am 39 now. It wasn't an intentional delay in responding to her questions but rather never a good time to sit and talk at length about it. We hashed lots of family stuff out during a road trip from Northern California, home to Southern California. But yay for being another supportive mom!!! He'll open up at some point. Some teens have a hard time opening up to even the most open parents.

 

Let him decided when he is ready to tell his siblings, I havent told my brother that I am bi because I don't think he is ready. It could differ between the maturity of the other brothers and sisters. Its good that he told you:icon_bigg

 

If more mothers were like the OP, the world would be a much better place.

 

It's so nice to hear stories about parents who love and accept their children. Thank you for being there for your son. You've saved him a lot of despair that other kids have to go through. You are always welcome to ask any questions here.

 

If only all moms were like you...

 

From another parent's point of view: if the relationship between you and your kids is so open and understanding, why you consider your son "brave"? If he knew from the start that it would not matter at all to you, he would not need any courage to tell you.

And about telling the siblings. It depends on your son's wish. And also about the way you have brought the younger ones and what message you want to give them (e.g. "it is totally ok to be bi but you must not tell anyone).
Besides, they are old enough to be aware of their own sexuality already and this would probably not be the first time they talked about it.

 

You are one cool mum

 

One great mum!!

One other point:If you ever feel that it would benefit your son to become a member of this site, if you asked any of the mods they could delete your thread so that he would not know that you have been here.

 

I agree with you. It definitely is a brave thing to do. I can relate to what your son is going through. I was constantly in doubt, and it wasn't until I could confide in a close friend or two that I realized there was nothing wrong with it. I firmly believe that I was born this way for a reason, so there's no reason why I should double-take myself. There's always the question of how people are going to react; people might seem accepting on the outside, but once it becomes a personal issue they might have a completely different reaction. Your son certainly had to muster a lot of courage to come out, and kudos to him for that!

Let me just reiterate the points made by so many other people: you are a FANTASTIC parent. I'm so happy that there are people like you who aren't afraid or don't have any objections to orientation, and you realize that it's not something you can change. You don't skirt around the topic, you don't try to distort it, you don't chalk it up to "just a phase" as so many parents do; you see him as he is and I applaud you for that.

I remember when I told my mom, she was accepting but still treated it as a phase because I told her I "thought" I was gay, even though at that point I knew I was. She still talks to me about girls, not boys. Maybe it's because I just haven't told any of my other family members, but I still feel a certain sense of hurt. Your son is so lucky that he doesn't have to worry about that, because he has you. I hope you continue to be a source of comfort for your son, and that he can tell you all of his secrets when he feels ready. But for now, just keep being a mom. Give him time to settle into his skin, and a deeper trust, more than you could imagine, will be the result. (*hug*)

 

Bmx93.... these kind of threads is like knocking a ton of bricks off my shoulders with just 1 finger... because I just can't explain it how happy it can be.. to have a mom just like you... that kid is the luckiest on ever hehe... while on my side its only a dream... hopefully my parents come around and accept me:icon_bigg big hugs for you... (*hug*) I am proud of you.. you have done great :icon_wink

 

We need more people like you in the world, like now

 

Whoa, him opening up to you about someone he likes, is huge! Tread lightly and be supportive. Gosh we are all so fragile at that age.

But YAY!!!! I can't think of anything else to add...

 

Your a great parent for being so supportive towards your son... also I think for the question on where to go next, is to carry on with how it's going then keep an open honest relationship so that he can tell you if there's something wrong, (from your thread i think he will know that he can talk to you . If your confused or have questions regarding his sexuality or anything that might relate to him being gay, he seems open and comfortable enough to allow you to ask away. If this may be a problem though, in my personal experience, i didnt want to talk about it for a while, so use your best judgement to how you think he feels. Dont know if this helps but good luck...

P.s hope he had a happy birthday =)